Part 1.1 Dark Peak

Part One: Landscape Character Descriptions 1. Dark Peak Landscape Character Types • Open Moors ............................ 1.4 • Settled Valley Pastures .............. 1.13 • Moorland Fringe ..................... 1.7 • Riverside Meadows ................... 1.18 • Enclosed Moorland ................ 1.10 Dark Peak Character Area 51 Part 1 - 1.1 Dark Peak CHARACTER AREA 51 An upland landscape of high moors and settled valleys Landscape Character Types • Open Moors • Enclosed Moorland • Riverside Meadows • Moorland Fringe • Settled Valley Pastures "Should you tire of the valleys and desire to breathe a larger air, the moors are never far distant - moors gloriously open and grand .... These are the real moors of heather and bracken which flame with brown and yellow and purple in the autumn." (p8 JB Firth ‘Highways and Byways in Derbyshire') Introduction Buildings constructed from the with vertical cliff faces referred to as local ‘gritstone' and dry-stone walls ‘edges' regularly defining the The Dark Peak extends over a large in the same material reinforce the Moorland Fringe. Collectively, area of north-west Derbyshire character and provide a visual link these rocky outcrops add to the although much of it lies within the to the underlying geology. wild and exposed nature of this administrative boundaries of the landscape. Peak District National Park. In Physical Influences Derbyshire, the Dark Peak extends The plateau tops, rising to 636m at from Glossop and New Mills, in the The Dark Peak is a dramatic upland Kinder Scout, are heavily dissected north and west, to the urban fringes landscape that owes much of its by drainage channels. Where run- of Sheffield, in the east and as far character to the underlying geology off has been sufficient to create south as Matlock. For the purposes of Millstone Grit sandstone. This rivers like the Goyt and Derwent, of the Derbyshire Landscape hard ‘gritstone' interspersed with these have eroded through the Character Assessment, the Dark softer shales has given rise to this gritstone to form broad, often steep Peak character area also includes distinctive landscape of ‘high sided, upland valleys that have the small area of the South West moors' dissected by broad valleys provided the focus for settlement Peak and Manchester Pennine and narrow rocky ‘cloughs'. and farming highlighted in Settled Fringe character areas that lie within Gritstone outcrops, creating rocky Valley Pastures. Sometimes scree Derbyshire. tors, punctuate these extensive and exposed rock located within areas of upland plateaux defining these valleys provide a link to the The expansive moorland of the the Open Moors. Moorland tops wild moorland character above the Peak District is one of the most provide long uninterrupted views valley sides. extensive semi-natural wilderness areas in England. Much of the moorland is traditionally managed for grouse shooting and sheep grazing. Hedgerows and dry-stone walls enclose the more sheltered valleys around these upland plateaux to provide pasture for dairy and livestock farming. The visual and environmental value of this landscape lies in the contrast River alluvium between the wild moorland and the Millstone small scale domesticated farmland Grit & sandstone Open Moors Grit within the in-bye land around the } Clay shale Series margins. These differences form the Moorland Fringe basis for the sub-division of the Enclosed Moorland Dark Peak into Landscape Character Types. Settled Valley Pastures Riverside Meadows Dark Peak Character Area 51 Part 1 - 1.2 Natural Influences Much of the agricultural landscape advantage of the easier gradients seen today has developed over the and serving the local populations Semi-natural vegetation is a key last millennium. The Domesday and industrial sites. characteristic with extensive areas Book describes the area as of heather and grass moorland sparsely settled and economically defining the Open Moors and backward. Much of the area was making a significant contribution to included in the Royal Forest of the Moorland Fringe and Enclosed Peak, and remained so until the Moorland. 17th century. Although the Open Moors remain unsettled and free of The lower lying in-bye land man-made features, the lower lying associated with Settled Valley margins of the Moorland Fringe and Pastures retains traditional hay Enclosed Moorlands are meadows and unimproved pasture, characterised by scattered and steep slopes and sheltered farmsteads built in the local cloughs retain areas of semi-natural gritstone. Villages are confined to broadleaf woodland. Where the valley bottom and lower slopes boundaries are not maintained, of the Settled Valley Pastures, and woodlands are gradually being lost often contain industrial terraces that as stock graze on young trees and once housed workers from the local prevent natural regeneration. In textile industry. recent years, grassland Railway bridges at Chapel-en-le-Frith management has been intensified on the lower valley slopes and Roads extending up the valley reduced towards the moorland, sides are few but tend to occur as making the distinction between winding country lanes sometimes moorland and enclosed farmland sunken, with steep narrow road less distinct, thus creating a gradual verges. Remnant moorland in many transition from one to the other. road verges is a reminder of the character of the wider landscape. Terrace houses All of these land-uses provide Even where the land either side has valuable habitats for wildlife. The industrial revolution saw the been agriculturally improved, these Heather moorland is a particularly development of large textile mills in can provide valuable floristic rare national habitat providing a the Riverside Meadows and the remnants. nesting site and food source for a associated expansion of number of rare birds. Broadleaf settlements like New Mills. The Open Moors have been woodland remains a key managed for grouse shooting and characteristic of Settled Valley Dry-stone walls, constructed of the sheep grazing since the early 19th Pastures where along with field local gritstone are a distinctive century. Periodic burning and boundaries, meadows and feature of the Dark Peak and regular grazing has ensured the pastures, it constitutes a mosaic of especially the Enclosed Moorlands. retention of the characteristic land wildlife habitats. Although walls extend into the cover that is seen today. valley bottoms, the lower slopes Human Influences tend to be enclosed by hedgerows which, together with the small fields, create a more enclosed Evidence of human activity on the character in contrast to the open Dark Peak dates from the Mesolithic expanse of the moors. Where the period when hunter gatherers were stone is fissile it has been used for attracted to even the highest moors, roofing. as indicated by finds of stone tools. The extent of settlement in the Roads and tracks are infrequent Red Grouse bronze age is dramatically throughout. They are generally illustrated by the surviving direct and follow straight lines as landscape on the East Moors. Here, Other considerations they cross the Open Moors and because of the lack of agricultural Enclosed Moorland. Some were improvement, remains of field • Peak District National Park former Roman roads or historic systems, settlements and ritual • PDNP Landscape Strategy & packhorse routes. Roads, railway monuments survive from the European Convention Action lines and even canals are more a second millennium BC. Plan feature of Settled Valley Farmlands • Peak District BAP and Riverside Meadows, taking Dark Peak Character Area 51 Part 1 - 1.3 Dark Peak LANDSCAPE TYPE: OPEN MOORS An upland landscape of rolling highland plateaux and heather moorland with a distinct sense of remoteness and ‘wildness'. Ecology Key Characteristics Much of this landscape is covered • Gently to moderately rolling highland plateau by heather moorland comprising • Raw peat soils and blanket bog over gritstone Calluna, cross-leaved heath, and • Unenclosed heather moorland extensively grazed by sheep bilberry. In the wettest areas, • Distinct absence of trees heather is replaced by cotton-grass • Many important archaeological (prehistoric) features and Sphagnum moss. • Open and exposed landscape with expansive views Where the moorland is grazed, some acid communities may Geology and Landform Soils and Land-Use establish. Over-grazing can be a problem often characterised by the These moorland plateaux and hill The soils are raw peat and blanket presence of Nardus stricta grass. summits are strongly influenced by bog which infill the hollows of the This is an important habitat for the underlying geology of the underlying geology to create a ground nesting birds. Millstone Grit Series. The hard smooth undulating land surface. bedrock is difficult to erode, The peat develops as a Tree Cover creating broad tracts of upstanding consequence of the cold, wet highland, rising to over 600 metres climate that inhibits microbial This is a treeless landscape owing at Kinder Scout. The majority of this activity which decomposes organic to the elevation, the wetness of the landscape extends northwards as a matter. With time, the organic underlying soils and the generally broad, expansive plateau, but matter accumulates to create deep harsh climate that makes tree around the edges where river valleys peat soils usually between 2-4m growth difficult. This lack of trees have eroded through the gritstone, thick but sometimes as deep as creates an open and exposed there are outliers of moorland

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